Seacoast International Basketball Festival a success

PORTSMOUTH — An international tradition of sorts continued Tuesday evening at Portsmouth High School's Stone Gymnasium.

Josh Rosenson

PORTSMOUTH — An international tradition of sorts continued Tuesday evening at Portsmouth High School's Stone Gymnasium.

The 2007 Seacoast International Basketball Festival brought visitors from Ireland and Canada this year to unite with teams from the Seacoast.

The trip included several games, as well as a clinic at Bowdoin College in Maine.

The visitors from Ireland, the Killester girls squad from Dublin, faced Portsmouth for a final game on Monday before tonight's closing ceremonies at Marshwood High School.

The Marshwood boys have been hosting a team from Hamilton, Ontario.

"The idea is to bring the kids together with the common passion for basketball, and have them become friends," festival director Jim Noucas said. "These commonalities can help them transcend culture and become friends."

Noucas has been the festival director since 1995, four years after the tradition began. The Seacoast plays host to foreign teams every third year, and on off years sends teams to other countries to play.

The Seacoast has played host to a plethora of countries, including Poland, Germany, France, England, Ireland and Canada. In addition, the Seacoast has had as many as 24 teams involved in one week. The festival has been very successful, but putting it on has its obstacles.

"We've been doing it a long time, but it's not always easy," Noucas noted, citing conflicting tournaments, coaching availability and rules as some planning issues. "Next year there might be the possibility (for the Seacoast teams) to visit the teams they have hosted."

Second-year PHS girls varsity coach Dan Casey had the honor of coaching the Clippers in the festival.

"It was a great experience. I didn't know what to expect coming in, but Jim (Noucas) said it would all come together and it did," Casey said. "It was amazing how well (the girls) hit it off coming in."

As for the prospect of participating in the future, Casey added: "It's definitely something I would look forward to doing again."

The Clippers are headed by two seniors, Stef Biron, and Erin Bailey.

"It was a really fun experience," Bailey said, "It was our second time hosting," she said of herself and Biron. "The Irish girls are great. It was a lot of fun getting to know them."

"It was definitely challenging," Biron said of the competition. "It made a difference playing competitive teams, and it helped improve (our younger players) a lot."

The girls from Killester, led by coach Peter Ferrari, are well decorated, having won their U-16 and U-17 national championships. For Ferrari, it was his first trip to the festival, and a much enjoyed one.

"I thought it was fantastic," Ferrari said, "It was great for the girls. I've never seen them so excited or working so hard. We've gone on trips for the last five years, and this has been the most fun and challenging."

The only negative on the trip, Ferrari joked: "The bugs ate us alive."

"It was really good, but it's been tough because of the heat," Killester's Kate Gillen said. "We got to see how different teams practice, and at the (Bowdoin) camp we got to learn new drills."

Gillen's teammate, Iseault Coremen, has enjoyed her visit as well.

"It's great, everyone is so friendly and enthusiastic," she said. "It was (a good experience) to meet the hosts and see how other families live."

Killester defeated Portsmouth in a defensive battle on Monday by a score of 43-27. Heading into the fourth quarter Portsmouth trailed by the narrow margin of 27-23, but the Killester offense awoke in the final period, outscoring Portsmouth 16-4.

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